Blood Never Tasted So Good
by Heisei
Summary: It begins on a thin path, contained in a forest, where Inu-Yasha, Kag, etc. run into trouble.
1. Blood Never Tasted So Good

Blood Never Tasted So Good  
  
It began to get dark when Kagome suggested that they stop and make camp for the night. The area was a small path, enclosed by enormous trees, which was the only place to flee if anything should happen.  
Everyone agreed that this place had a strange feel to it, but Kagome insisted that she was too tired to go on.  
Soon, Kagome pulled a small tent out of a huge sack that she made Inu- Yasha carry.  
"I have a bad feeling about this place," he restated.  
She stopped unpacking the tent momentarily and let out a small breath of air. "So do I," she said as she turned to him. "But there is no other choice. It would be safer to stay here for the night then to keep going."  
Inu-Yasha let out a noise that indicated that he was going to stick with his stubborn opinion.  
  
After nothing had been said for a while, Miroku, undoubtedly trying to score extra points with Kagome, which he expressed with a perverted smile, came over to help Kagome set up the tent. Inu-Yasha, however, sat on the top of a tree that stood slightly higher than the rest and began surveying the area.  
With an uneasy feeling, he jumped off of the branch and came falling toward the earth, and landed as if it were nothing.  
  
That night, they stayed up for a while, partly because they just wanted to talk, but mostly because of how strange the place felt.  
Eventually, Kagome decided that she would go to bed.  
Miroku, conveniently, became tired at about the same time. He got up, yawned, and then casually began walking toward the tent.  
Sango, having to deal with him quite frequently, caught on quickly and immediately hit Miroku over the head with a large stone and dragged him away from the tent. Then, with the few quick words "Men sleep outside," she went in the tent, and as she began to zip it up said, "And don't you come spying on us either because we will know if you are!" As she did, Shippo pulled down his bottom eye lid with his finger as he stuck out his tongue at Miroku and Inu-Yasha and quickly jumped in the tent with Kagome and Sango.  
"Well," Miroku said casually. "I guess I'll just sleep out here tonight." He gave a glance over at Inu-Yasha, and without turning his head back said, "How about you Inu-Yasha?"  
Inu-Yasha paused for a moment, still staring off into the dark forest. "I think I'll stay here and keep a watch on things."  
"Alright, whatever." He pulled out a cloth from the bag that was still sitting there open. As he lay there, Inu-Yasha noticed him looking like he was enjoying himself just a little more than usual.  
"What do you have there?" he asked. He looked closer and saw a perverted monk laying his head on a pair of Kagome's underwear. Inu-Yasha's face turned red with blush and anger. Then, he pulled up a huge rock and slammed it into his head. The monk, dazed, puts back the pair of panties and lies down on a rock. As he did you could here the disgruntled words of "Good Night".  
  
Meanwhile, as Kagome laid in the tent, staring up at the stars through a net window in the top of the tent, she felt assured that she still could hear the breathing of an active-watching Inu-Yasha. She began to imagine Inu-Yasha lying beside her, while he wrapped his arms around her. As she did this, she turned to one side and closed her eyes, relieved that Inu-Yasha wouldn't let anything happen to her. She slowly began to drift off and suddenly she was asleep.  
  
Authors note: All though less than ever now, I lack knowledge about Inu- Yasha. So, if you think something is too out of place, feel free to comment on it, and I will decide whether or not it's relevant enough or not. Thanks 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As morning arrived, the soft sun reached through the trees and touched Kagome on the face, through the unclosed net window. Also, at the same moment, a perverted monk was sitting at the entrance in a daze at the sight before him. Before he knew it, he was hit over the head with Sango's boomerang. He fell back in shock from the impact.

Kagome quickly got dressed (before the monk could recover) and noticed Inu-Yasha, who was laying on a rock, fast a sleep. She began to blush a little until she noticed Sango's presence behind her. Then, she quickly acted as if she was doing something else.

By this time, the Miroku was starting to regain awareness and stood to his feet.

Inu-Yasha heard a noise coming from the forest and woke up; he immediately became alert.

"What is it, Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked.

He sniffed around in the air a little, and after a pause said, "It's nothing. Let's just go."

Kagome was alert to because she knew that Inu-Yasha sensed something, and she sensed it too.

The others, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to what they were sensing and were acting as if there was nothing wrong at all. Kagome cautiously packed here stuff, taking note of the disrupted panties, which she vowed to get Miroku back for later, and slid her bag on her shoulders.

"Let's go," she said.

"So soon," replied Shippo. "But we haven't even had breakfast yet."

"I have a bad feeling about this place."

'She senses it too,' Inu-Yasha thought. 'This can't be good.'

They began to walk along the enclosed pathway. Shippo and the others were a little bit more aware of the presence now.

"I don't like the looks of this at all," Miroku stated as he looked upon the long path they still had yet to travel on.

"This path just seems to get longer every minute," Inu-Yasha said as he brings his hand to his sword that he's getting ready to use if necessary.

Suddenly, they heard a cracking noise coming from in the forest, where the trees were too thick to see.

"What was that?" Kagome Shrilled.

"Stay here." Inu-Yasha unsheathed his sword and with a great leap, jumped up to a high branch. Two jumps later, and he reached the top of the trees. He looked around, but he didn't see anything. So, he jumped off of the branch and put his sword back in its resting place. "It must have been nothing. Let's just get out of here."

Although they were a little assured by Inu-Yasha's confident words, they still felt a little uneasy because they could feel the presence around them even more now.

As, they continued to walk, the path became more curved and snake-like. This made it harder to see anything at all. Not only that, but it was also becoming thinner, and their comfort of being close to each other, especially for Miroku, was no longer able to be sustained as they were, almost within feet, forced to travel in a single file line.

Kagome kept saying "I don't like this" over and over again, until Inu-Yasha said, "Everything will be just fine." Then, she settled down and became a little more secure.

However, as they traveled it seemed to get darker because the trees were getting bigger, wider, and more plentiful. Now their only hope of escape was to retreat because the tress were, at this point, touching and inner locking. They looked like they were fusing because they were so close together.

Suddenly, noise filled in around them in the up until this point quiet forest.

Kagome reached back and grabbed for Inu-Yasha's hand as she let out, "Inu-Yasha, I'm scared." He forced her to loosen her grip and let go so that he could easily grab for Tetsusaiga.

The ground in front of them began to tear up coming in their direction. Inu-Yasha managed to grab Kagome end mover her out of the way behind him. Then, he jumped up, pulled out Tetsusaiga, and plunged it into the rising ground. At the same moment, a small fox demon, a little bigger than Shippo, wearing a shinobi uniform revealed himself from beneath the dirt.

All that you could see of him was two ears, his brown eyes, tail, and paws.

Upon jumping out of the ground, he threw something into the air, which burst in a cloud of white, blinding smoke. Seconds later he appeared and began attacking Miroku from behind the group.

Taking a cheap hit from behind by the fox demons small katana, Miroku was at a disadvantage, and after he blocked a few of the fox's attacks, the demon realized that wasn't go to work and flew back into a defensive stance, where his legs were spread out one in front of another, one hand on the ground, the other with the katana ready but held back. He lunged forward, and with the katana in his hand, said a quick little chant as chi formed in his hands.

Inu-Yasha quickly jumped over everyone with Tetsusaiga held firmly over his head.

"You're not going to get away this time, you coward."

Distracted by Inu-Yasha's screaming, the fox accidentally released the chi ball off in the wrong direction and barely missed Miroku and the others.

Inu-Yasha came down and swung his sword to the ground which sent dirt flying everywhere. The fox quickly jumped out of the way and returned to his defensive position.

Drops of blood could be heard hitting the ground and smelt by both the vigorous demons. They both had small cuts that ran across their cheeks.

'How did he cut me,' he thought. 'It was so fast.' He thinks back and vaguely remembered seeing what he could dimly make out as a katana, which flew up and barely missed him, as the little fox jumped out of the way.

The fox demons attention is drawn to the cut on his cheek, indicating by shifting eyes.

Inu-Yasha quickly takes a swing at him again, but cannot swing his sword fast enough to hit the demon in such a small space.

The demon quickly reaches into his pocket again and pulls out something that causes another blinding cloud. When the smoke clears, he is gone.

BTW (Author's note): This fic is almost completely spontaneous. Every word is spur of the moment. So, if any of you want to know what is going to happen, your guess is as good as mine.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
After the run-in with the demon fox, everyone was on the alert. They didn't leave anything to chance knowing that the little fox demon could be stocking them at any moment with making virtually know noise or sign of existence what-so-ever.  
However, they did have to stop for a while so Kagome could bandage up Miroku's wound he received from the battle, and so that Miroku could grope Kagome while she was trying to do this and get hit over the head by and enormous rock. Plus, they all had to clear their vision from the blinding smoke he kept using on them.  
"Damn fox demon. I'll show him if he ever shows up again," Inu-Yasha said confidently while resting the Tetsusaiga into the ground.  
"There, all done." Kagome stood up and dusted her self off. Miroku did the same and reached for his staff.  
Once they had cleared their vision and bandaged all of their wounds. They began to walk again. Inu-Yasha decided to take the front with his hand on his sword, ready to pull it out. Miroku decided to take the rear (in more ways than one), as he got ready for a back attack with occasionally staring at Sango's figure.  
"What are you looking at," Sango asked as she noticed him looking suspiciously over his shoulder. She followed his eyes and began to blush as she realized where he was staring. Then, her face went an even darker color of red from rage. She pulled out her bow and quickly smashed it over the pervert's head. clapping  
The path way seemed to get slightly wider as they began to get closer to where the entrance should be about, but it wasn't enough to make that much difference.  
After walking for about an hour and a half straight through the more frequently changing path, they began to see a fork in the path. By this point the path had gotten quite large, thinned to a very small point you had to climb over the trees for, to what it was now- an undeveloped path where the trees had finally spread far enough out that one could go between the trees.  
They walked to the corner of the path and noticed a small sign. It seemed to be written in riddle. It read:  
  
_When the sun is high the paths shall show their true colors._  
  
"What does it mean?" asked Shippo.  
"I think it's saying we have to wait until the sun is directly above to tell which way we have to go," suggested Kagome.  
"It's already hours past that," stated Inu-Yasha. "And I'm not waiting here another day." Inu-Yasha quickly spat out, "Let's go" before he gave any thought on which way they had to go and ran off on the path to the right.  
"Wait up!" cried Kagome and the others as they took off running in the same direction.  
They found him stopped at a large tree in the middle of a clearing. Spirits surrounded they area who could not find their way out of the forest.  
"Inu-Yasha! What did you take off like that for?" screamed a frantic Kagome.  
"Common, let's go." Inu-Yasha began to take off again without answering Kagome's question."  
He found his way onto a small, very undefined path. It looked like it had only been used once or that only very few people ever use it. It led him into a part of the forest where the path became one with the rest of the soil. Once the others caught back up without saying a word to Inu- Yasha, he began to walk at a normal pace again.  
They finally found their way out of the forest, but as they began to leave, they heard the sound of something flying through the air. They all looked back and saw a flying katana coming right for them. They quickly ducked out of the way as it flew past them and slammed into a tree head first. They all came up and briefly examined the katana and took note that it was the same katana that the fox demon used. Inu-Yasha growled and took out Tetsusaiga. Likewise, Miroku began to take off his cloth around his hand, but Inu-Yasha stopped him.  
"I have a score to settle with him," Inu-Yasha said. "You guys just be ready."  
They all readied their weapons and got ready for anything to happen, while Inu-Yasha stood in front of them facing the forest armed with Tetsusaiga.  
"Alright, where are you," he thought out loud. He looked around, but he couldn't see where he was hiding, nor could he smell him because he was, unknown by Inu-Yasha, using shinobi technique to cover up his sent.  
Suddenly, he came out of hiding from behind a rock and ran toward Inu- Yasha.  
Inu-Yasha picked up his sword and swung at the demon as he darted between Inu-Yasha's legs and through the others to retrieve his katana. Then he darted toward Inu-Yasha, and in mid air, he quickly changed direction and sliced Inu-Yasha across the abdomen. Still standing as if he just struck something, the fox looked back at Inu-Yasha, who was slowly staring to grow wet with blood.  
He thrust his hand to his abdomen to stop the bleeding.  
"Oh no!" cried a surprisingly informed Miroku.  
"What is it?" asked Kagome.  
"I've seen that technique before. When the victim is cut using this technique, he does not stop bleeding until he has lost all of his blood and dies because oxygen cannot reach the muscles."  
"Where did you see that?" Kagome asked.  
"There's no time for that right now; we have to help Inu-Yasha." Miroku rushed off to Miroku's aid. Kagome, after an estranged look at Miroku, ran to Inu-Yasha's side as well.  
It was too late though, Inu-Yasha's full demon side had already taken over due to the life threatening conditions. As soon as they got there, Inu- Yasha emitted a small burst of energy (small because his hanyou side was holding it back), which blew both Kagome and Miroku back with minor wounds. Then he dashed off toward the fox demon, as the fox demon did the same. Passing by each other, you could hear the sound of Inu-Yasha's claws colliding with the Shinobi's sword. The both stopped for a minute, and then, the little demons sword split. Inu- Yasha had sliced off the end of the sword with his attack.  
The wolf demon, in complete shock by this, quickly looked at the life threatened demon and decided it would be the best course of action to flee again. After he was gone, Inu-Yasha collapsed and returned to his normal state, even without Kagome having to say "Sit", which she thought she might do later for spite. They immediately began bandaging up the wound and fixing up medicine to counteract the technique.  
  
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"Miroku?"

"Yes, Kagome?"

"What happened with you and that technique? How did you know about it?"

"I... uh..."

"Fess up!"

"Alright, one day, when I was still in a monastery learning how to be a monk, we were attacked by a group of Shinobi. They slaughtered almost everyone. Few of us lived, thanks to our master's skill. I was one of them... The Shinobi used that technique on someone I knew."

"How did you make it out?"

"Uh... ' ... Never mind..."

"-- ..."

...

"Miroku? What happened to the one the used the technique on?"

"..."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
AN: Okay... So this fic hasn't really been that great of a success... In other words, not very many people have reviewed it, but to you few but loyal fans... Domo... And for those of you who aren't fans... Well, nobody cares about you   
  
"Inu-Yasha! Inu-Yasha!"  
"Huh? Kagome?"  
"Inu-Yasha! Wake up, Inu-Yasha!"  
Inu-Yasha opened his eyes to discover a frantic Kagome crying over him.  
"Don't worry, Kagome, I'm fine." Kagome opened her eyes, and almost in disbelief, threw herself on Inu-Yasha. He gave out a sound of pain, but not as much as he actually felt so he could keep his strong appearance. Kagome quickly got off of him with a quick "sorry", and he began to push himself up with his nearby sword and grab for his kimono they used to prop up his head.  
"Inu-Yasha, you should rest." Inu-Yasha turned his head in the direction of the familiar voice to see Miroku preparing more medicine. "It's a wonder you pulled through at all."  
Inu-Yasha smirked as he tried again to rise to his feat. "It's not like you were much help."  
Miroku begins to think back to the battle and recalls Inu-Yasha specifically telling him to stay back. He let's out a small breath of air and continues to fix up some medicine for Inu-Yasha.  
Inu-Yasha jabs the end of his sheath back into the ground and tries to push himself up again.  
"Here, Inu-Yasha, let me help you." Kagome, and almost automatically Sango, grab Inu-Yasha be either arm and help lift him up, but Inu-Yasha, deciding to be stubborn and not letting anyone help him, shakes them off saying, "get off of me." They let him fall back to the ground.  
He reaches for his sword again and tries to haul himself up. This time he succeeds. He begins to button up his kimono, as he tries to support his weight on the sword.  
"Here, Inu-Yasha, drink this." Miroku hands him a bull of medicine he just prepared.  
"Ah, fine." He takes the bull from Miroku and chugs it all down. Then, as he throws the bull back at Miroku, which the clumsy monk barely gets a hold on before it hits the ground, walks off away from the forest.  
'Inu-Yasha' thinks Kagome. "We'll stay here tonight," she suggests. "Inu-Yasha needs to heal up."  
They decided to make camp a mile away from the forest, for obvious reasons. Kagome pulls her tent out and orders Miroku to set it up.  
Seeing as how she seemed really worried about Inu-Yasha, and he knows better than to get on Kagome's bad side when she upset, he let out a sigh and went to work.  
Sango and Kagome began to try and light a fire, as Shippo and Kirara went and gathered wood from a nearby, smaller forest that was broken off from the main forest by a fire that, by the looks of it, only happened one or two years ago.  
Kagome and Sango managed to get the fire going just fine, and Shippo and Kirara managed to get the wood with only the trouble of a little squirrel that frightened Shippo. Miroku on the other hand, was having a lot of trouble with the tent, but got it up when everyone pitched in.  
Inu-Yasha just sat up on the top of the hill and stared off in the distance, watching the sun go down. Then, he heard a noise coming from behind him. He grabbed his sword with his right hand and reached for the handle with his left (for the noise came from the left) and began to pull it out as he turned to see who or what it was, but it was just Kagome. He slid the tattered, old sword back in its sheath and looked back at the falling sun.  
With a little fright to Inu-Yasha taking out his sword, Kagome managed to get out a few words. "What are you thinking about?" she asked him.  
He paused for a moment without looking at her, and then he responded, "Nothing."  
"You can't just be thinking about nothing. Come on, Inu-Yasha. Tell me what's on your mind." Inu-Yasha began to get a little angered by this.  
"I said, 'Nothing' alright. Just leave me alone!" This really upset Kagome, but he didn't realize it until he heard here start crying. He looked over to her with compassionate eyes, realizing how he hurt her, but it was too late; the damage was done.  
"Fine! Just be that way!" She got up and began to run back to the others.  
Inu-Yasha shouted out to her as she took off.  
"Wait! Kagome!" It was no use.  
Kagome ran over to a near by tree. She leaned against it with her arm supporting herself, with it raised over her head, resting on the tree. She began to watch the tears fall from her face and hit the ground. The tears seemed to fall slower than they should, as if time was slowing down itself. When the tears hit the ground, they split and dampened the water where they touched. Then, the ground beneath her became covered with someone else's shadow. She looked over to see Inu-Yasha standing up without the help of his sword.  
"Listen, Kagome," he began. "I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry."  
He began to limp away, but Kagome turned around and latched on to him. Being off balance as it was, he could hardly support himself.  
"Oh, Inu-Yasha," she said to him softly.  
"Let go! Let go! You're going to make me fall over." Soon enough, Inu- Yasha backed into a rock and fell backward. Both him and Kagome, just lied there, staring into each other's eyes.  
"Kagome! Inu-Yasha! What are you two doing over there?" shouted Miroku.  
They both came out of their daze and immediately began to get a yard away from each other and stand up like nothing happened.  
"Uh... Nothing!" they both said at the same time.  
After getting themselves back together, Kagome and Inu-Yasha went back to the edge of the cliff. There they watched the sun fall the rest of the way, and talked together until all of the stars were out. 


End file.
